Background
We began our investment partnership with Cooke Optics the highly recognised film industry brand in September 2015. Cooke has a 125+ year heritage, a superb product set, an established and differentiated market position and a loyal customer and user base. They are a specialist manufacturer of high-end cine lenses for the motion picture, television and advertising industries.
The business had an exciting plan for growth based on extending its existing product range, new product development and expansion of its UK production facilities. The management team had received several private equity approaches but selected GCP due to the cultural alignment, shared ambition to invest in the business and value add approach to organisational evolution.
Over the period of our three-year partnership, we expanded the product range from four lines to seven, invested in a new “clean room” production facility, positioned the business for long-term succession and doubled profitability.
We realised our investment in Cooke in July 2018 with a deal with a carefully selected financial investor that provided the right long-term home for the business.
